Dear Collectors and Art Enthusiasts~

Summer has arrived at last, and with it the best full moon of the year. In Malibu, the moon rose over the ocean this month, and as usual I went out to paint this spectacular event. I had a small group of students with me for the moonrise, which kept me too busy to paint the actual event, but as the night wore on and the moon drew higher I found this scene and settled in for the evening. The high tide was throwing plumes of mist into the night air, which caught the moonlight for just a moment before falling back to the sea.

The full moon stirred my inner philosopher, and I began to see the plumes of mist as human lives, rising from ashes to shine for a moment before we’re beckoned home again. It was Art that taught me to look at the world this way, seeing stories and lessons in nature all around, and I continue to believe that it is Art’s most important role to enlighten the soul by infusing Nature with subtext. I used to paint the full moon every month, and this painting has made me realize how much I’ve missed it. Newly inspired, I’m planning to paint next month’s full moon from the same location. If you care to join me as observer or as student, you can just let me know by replying to this email.

If you haven’t had a chance to see the On Location in Malibu exhibition at the Weisman Museum at Pepperdine, I’ll be joining a few of the artists in the exhibition on Saturday to give a guided tour led by Michael Zakian, the Director of the Museum. It goes from 2-3 p.m. this Saturday, July 11th. Admission is five dollars.
In August, I’ll be heading out to the Bennington Center for the Arts in Vermont to teach a workshop on plein-air painting. I’ve never been to the great state of Vermont, and I’m very much looking forward to the opportunity to paint in this famously beautiful area. If you’d like to join me there, please call the California Art Club at (626) 583-9009, or reply to this email with your phone number and I’ll give you a call.

I’ll continue my travels in the second half of the year, with trips planned to Vermont, D.C., Louisiana and Tennessee. Whether out across the country or here in southern California, I hope to see many of you in the months to come, wherever beauty can be found.

Best Regards,

David C. Gallup

www.DGallup.com

Dear Collectors and Art Enthusiasts~

     It has been for me a year rich in travels, and we’re not yet halfway through. I’ve been painting throughout California, in New England, New York, the deep South, and just now I’m back from Tennessee where I spent a week painting and teaching color theory and plein-air techniques. My dear students were good enough to put me up in a B&B, which turned out to be a large house which I had all to myself, overlooking a small private lake. There was a screened porch where I’d sit in the late evenings and watch the lightening on the horizon, or the bats, owls, and opossum as they’d gather and search for food in the humid night air. There was also a farm dog there, an old collie mix who was probably in her last year. She was my porch companion, and slept on my welcome mat at night. She wore no tags, but at some point I started calling her Charlie and she didn’t seem to mind. I didn’t know it yet, but she was to be my guide on the journey that would become this month’s selected moment of beauty.


     For the sake of brevity, I’ll fast-forward through a great week of painting, laughing, and good times spent with friends new and old. Past an unforgettable evening in an antebellum home and an authentic catfish fry where I was convinced that the tail was a delicacy (I still think they were serious about that, by the way). The scenery and painting conditions were great, and I did at least six or seven paintings which I really liked. In addition to posting them on the “New Works” section of my website I’ve also created a special preview page with all of my paintings from the trip, including one with roosters and even one of a tornado I saw off the Natchez Trace on my (wrong) way to the airport. The image above, “Blackbirds at Leipers Creek”, was done after class one day on the charming and picturesque Creekview Ranch where the workshop was held (Thank You Haden and Jimmy!!). Every one of us found much inspiration on this beautiful land.


     On my second-to-last night as I sipped my beer on the screened porch I saw something I hadn’t seen since I was six years old… lightening bugs. Just a few. But the next night there were dozens of them, floating in the heavy ground-fog down by the lake. There was a waning gibbous moon hung low in the east which provided just enough light that I decided to go down to the lake and walk among them. Charlie didn’t want to get up from her comfortable spot on the porch, but I reminded her that you get only so many summers and she ought to make the most of moments like these. She grumbled and got up slowly, and I grabbed my beer and set off through the mowed grass and fog with her at my side.


     The fog gave the fireflies little halos, so that they looked much like tiny japanese lanterns on invisible strings. There were two colors of lights, pale blue and a vivid gold. I stopped at the edge of the lake and caught one in my cupped hands. They have a smell, fireflies. I had forgotten that. One whiff of that acidic, earthy smell transported me to the last time I had smelled it when I was just six years old living in the suburbs of St. Louis. Suddenly I was staying out late with my brothers while my grandmother made braids of purple clover flowers and told stories about the old days. Nostalgic, and lost in a fog of time and light I turned to Charlie to bring me back to the present. She gave me a smile and looked at the lake, as if thanking me for bringing her out there in the fog, and I released the lightening bug as we headed back toward the house. The lightening was getting closer and Charlie was smart enough to want shelter. I’ve got a painting of this started on my easel right now, I’ll post it if I figure out how to finish it.


     I have one more workshop I’d like to do at the end of this month. It’s at a beautiful B&B up on Vancouver Island. If you’re interested in a great week of learning and taking a great trip to some spectacular and unspoiled country, you can learn more at my website on the Workshop page. If you think you’d like to join us, let me know soon as the dates are approaching (June 30-July 3). It will be a small group, no more than six or seven students, and they’re charging in Canadian dollars so it’s a relative bargain.
I hope to see you all out and about at all the wonderful cultural events going on in Southern California this summer as we seek together those splendid and elusive moments of beauty.


Best Regards,
David C. Gallup



See more work at www.dgallup.com

Dear Collectors and Art Enthusiasts~

What an exciting and wonderful month this has been to be an artist! It started with a trip out to Santa Barbara Island to paint the wildflowers onboard a 48 foot yacht, thanks to the continued support of my sponsors at Sail Channel Islands. Santa Barbara Island (SBI) is my favorite of the Channel Islands and I couldn’t resist the offer to get out there for one last wildflower bloom before my show is completed. On the way out, we encountered a super-pod of dolphins, a thousand or so, all rushing around us and leaping high in the air in all directions. As many times as I’ve seen it, it never fails to thrill. We also saw three sharks, two humpback whales and a sunfish, and that was just on the trip out. After a boat ride like that, there’s always the fear that the island visit might not live up to the journey. In this case, our fears were unfounded. We arrived on SBI just as the bloom was peaking. While my main reason for going on this trip was to do some diving and get some underwater video the time I spent on the island was unforgettable. Not only were the flowers outstanding, but I had the rare pleasure of witnessing a spectacular aerial battle between two peregrine falcons.

Shortly after my return from the island, I packed up again and headed to Valencia, where the Sequoia Riverlands Trust had invited members of the California Art Club out to privately held lands to paint the wildflowers and sycamore groves. The landscape was literally exploding with color… poppies, fennel, lupine, fiddle-head and snowdrop covered nearly every hillside and meadow. Quiet streams meandered amidst grazing cattle and air thick with birds of all kinds. Of special interest to me were the red-winged blackbirds, which I’ve wanted to paint for a few years now. I finally got my chance at Norris Ranch, where I painted this piece, “A Song of Spring”.

Before returning from Visalia, I couldn’t resist the chance to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and head up to nearby Sequoia National Park, home of the largest tree in the world. The park was blanketed in fresh snow, and after walking the well- trodden paths to the world’s largest tree and other top tourist destinations I got off the beaten track and did a four-hour snowshoe trail through the deep forest. Just as my hike was ending, a dense fog rolled through the woods creating powerful shafts of light and enhancing the already profound feeling of stillness and serenity. I’ve had more encounters with deeply inspiring natural beauty this month than I could manage to paint, and that’s pretty unusual. I won’t even get into the other amazing moments, save to say I had a great encounter with a bobcat, and I got to see Placido Domingo perform and met him after the show. It was almost too much beauty for one month, if there could be such a thing.

It is with high expectations, therefore, that I head out to Baton Rouge, Louisiana next week for a five day plein-air workshop. I had a great time painting there last summer, and I look forward to seeing all of my returning students as well as meeting many new ones. I have no doubt there will be inspiring landscape, great food, and wonderful music shared among great people.

Shortly after my return, the California Art Club’s Annual Gold Medal Exhibition will open at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. Once again I’m serving as the Gold Medal Artist’s Chairman, so I can tell you with certainty that this year’s collection of works will be outstanding. As the size of the group and the ability of it’s members increases each year, it gets easier and easier to put a great show together from the work submitted. You can attend either of two high- profile preview evenings; Friday, April 24th for the Collector’s Circle Preview or Saturday, April 25th for the Artist’s Reception and Awards Evening. The show opens for general admission on Sunday, April 25th. I’ll be there all three days, and I’m looking forward to seeing so many of you there- it’s always a pleasure spending time at that show, surrounded by so much beauty shared among so many art lovers.

Lastly, I’ve updated the “New Works” section of my website with some of my wildflower paintings including the one from Santa Barbara Island, and more will be uploaded as they are finished this week. I look forward to inspiring encounters with all of you as we meet in nature, or at cultural events on our mutual quest to collect moments of beauty.
Best Regards,

David C. Gallup

P.S. If you’d like to see what it’s like to go with me on a trip to SBI, check out Captain Dan’s video of our trip at http://www.viddler.com/explore/captdan/videos/19/

Also, if you never saw the video of composer Carter Larsen improvising to my nocturne paintings it’s now on youtube.com – just type my name into the search or follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUWW2QLqU2c

email: david@dgallup.com
phone: (805) 241-4084
web: http://www.dgallup.com

Visit dgallup.com for all the painted works of David C. Gallup along with events, news, workshops & much more.

Dear Art Collectors and Enthusiasts~

When the days are short, wet, windy and cold I naturally tend to spend more and more time in my studio. It was mainly during these reclusive winter months over the past decade that I slowly began to develop a theory about color harmony and how I could use “color chords” to bring harmony to my paintings just as a musician would use chord structures to bring beauty to sounds. About two years ago I was introduced to the legendary composer Carter Larsen at the home of a mutual patron (thank you Ashley Wells!). Carter was fascinated to learn about my use of music theory in my paintings, and we began collaborating on an experimental project, which came to fruition just three weeks ago.

We gathered 120 art and music connoisseurs at the home of arts patron Kara Fox, and presented Carter with six of my nocturne paintings which he had never seen before. He was then given a moment to study the painting before performing improvised compositions as a response to, or interpretations of my paintings. The music was truly beautiful and by all accounts the evening was a smash. We’re planning future events at LACMA’s Bing Theater and at the home of artist and patron Cathey Cadieux in Malibu, where we’ll have enough room for me to invite all of you (so long as you don’t ALL come!). There is a short video of the night’s event on my facebook page, … Have a look, I think you’ll see that the evening was a genuine celebration of a very special collaboration, and having such beautiful music be inspired by my work will remain one of the highlights of my life. If you’re not already linked up with me as a friend on Facebook, please take a moment to add me to your friends list. You’ll see the video link on my Facebook Home Page.

As we leave winter behind and head into the Art Season, I hope you’ll all get out to see the California Art Club’s Annual Gold Medal Exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of California art, slated to open on April 22 and run thru May 17. Once again, I’ll be serving as the Gold Medal Artist’s Chairman, and I’ll give you a behind the scenes tip right now- this show will be Beautiful!! Just a week after the show closes, “On Location in Malibu” will open at the Weissman Museum in Malibu, where I will be exhibiting this painting, “The Glistening Playground”. At 30″ x 40″, it’s not a plein-air painting so it’s production was perfectly suited to the numerous cold, windy, and rainy days we’ve had here during the past month.

I learned to surf in Malibu over twenty years ago, and I know the wonder and pleasure of being out on the perfect day as dolphins glide past. Doing justice to that feeling was a tremendous challenge, and I only hope I’ve lived up to it.

Now that this painting is done, I’m looking forward to getting out to paint the fruits of our winter rains. I’ll be taking a few days to paint wildflowers on Santa Barbara island with Cap’n Dan of Sail Channel Islands as he continues to support my work painting the Channel Islands and Marine Sanctuary. We’ll be sailing in prime whale season, and the weather is typically great in March so I’m anticipating a fantastic trip. Then I’m off to paint on private land held by Sequoia Riverlands Trust before teaching a workshop in the green rolling hills of the Santa Ynez Valley, hosted by the Wildling Museum. Starting on the last day of March I’ll be teaching a workshop in Napa Valley wherein I’ll take students up in a hot air balloon to paint the arial views in the early morning light. It’s going to be a very busy month for me, but it promises to be lots of fun and I know I’ll get to see quite a few of you at these events. I always look forward to that.

Lastly, I’ve updated the “New Works” section of my website as well as the “Workshops” page where you’ll see that I’ve been busy planning to travel and paint with as many of you as possible this year. If I’m not painting near you but you think I should, let me know! I’m always open to suggestions as to what new places I should visit in my quest for more moments of beauty.

Best Regards,

David C. Gallup

Upcoming Workshop Opportunities

March 23- March 27
Plein-Air Painting Workshop in Santa Ynez Valley
Sponsored by the Wildling Museum

Come spend five days painting with me in some of the most beautiful country California has to offer. Santa Ynez Valley is a largely undeveloped area of vast farmlands and rolling green hills dotted with oak trees. Valleys of wildflowers and pastures await us as we explore the visual poetry of this magical place. Workshop fee is $500. Inquiries and registration should be made through the Wildling Museum’s Manager of Visitor Services, Amy Mutza. She can be reached at 688-1082.

March 31 – April 3
Plein-Air Painting Workshop in Napa Valley, Includes Painting from a Hot Air Balloon

Four days of intensive personalized instruction in a small class. Highlights include painting one morning from a hot air balloon. Seven Students in a ten-passenger basket will assure we all have room to work. Workshop fee is $700, including Hot Air Balloon and one champagne brunch picnic at the end of the ride.

April 13-17
Swamp Boogie Plein-Air Workshop in Baton- Rouge, Louisiana
Look out, Louisiana- I’m comin’ back!! This workshop will explore the possibilities of the color theory workshop as applied to plein-air work. While my color theory workshop is not a prerequisite, this workshop will be a perfect follow-up for those of you who survived my color theory and want to take it outside. We’ll paint swamps, woods, pastures and the banks of the mighty Mississippi. Workshop fee is $500.